Pat Griskus Olympic Tri Race Recap

My third race of June was back at Quassy for Pat Griskus. I am not sure why I thought it would be smart to do two races at this super hilly part of the state….but here I was for the second time this month. This race was just my parents and I. Spencer was up in Canada racing a draft legal race chasing that pro card.

We arrived at 5:30 because I still needed to get my packet and put my bike in transition. The whole pre-race nonsense went smoothly. I got my packet in a timely manner, picked out a bike rack, and set up all my goods. I went down to the beach to do a swim warm up. The swim was a little confusing since there was both an Olympic and Sprint distance. I talked to one of the men in charge and he explained the course to a group of us. We had 5 buoys we were suppose to be going around….only problem was it was so foggy I could only see two. So, I proceeded to do my warm up and I was just thinking at least I know there is 5 buoys and I will figure out where they are when I get there. As it got closer to the race start that fog was lifting and I could see all 5 buoys….Oh but that joke was on me.…by the time we got to the first female wave, which I was in, the fog came back.

Shop Employees racing together! Congrats Aedan on your first tri!

We were off on the swim….only about 15 ladies it seemed like for our wave (yes, I was shocked too how small our wave was). The entire swim I felt great, but I could not see a single thing! I would be halfway to the next buoy before I could see it. I was trying to follow the people in front of me, but at the same time I did not trust that they could see either. I had to stop a few times to get the fog out of my goggles and try to sight the next buoy. The swim was a mile and I came out with a decent time (for me) of 33:01.

It was quite the long run to transition, but I made it and it was time for the bike. We took a right out of Quassy and I was off. The first few miles were a nice downhill and I was feeling myself. It felt good to get my legs underneath myself because I knew very quickly we would be climbing….and boy did we climb! The middle of the course was nothing but climbing. I am not sure I got out of my little ring for a half hour straight. Every time you got to the top of one hill there was another, and another. I was going back and forth with a few guys a lot of the race. They would catch me on the downhill and I would get them on the uphill. Finally, after what felt like forever we got a couple good long descents. The final stretch was a street we had rode at Rev 3 Quassy so I knew that had some more climbs. Overall, the bike felt pretty good despite the climbing. I was curious to see how my legs would handle the run. My bike ended up being 1:22:16.

Then it was off to the double loop run. The first mile of the run is amazing….all downhill….but guess what? That is also the last mile of the run. So, ya the first mile is down hill and flat through the turnaround. And then you have to climb right back up that hill and then do it all again. The worst part is running right near the finish and then having to go run the loop again! The hill was okay the first time, and then the second time I wanted to die. It hurt…..but I knew I was almost done. I literally trotted up, I felt like I was moving no where. My run ended up being 44:29 which I was really happy with.

Overall, the race was tough, but the weather was great and I had another great result. I won my age group and was 5th overall female. My final time was 2:43:10. Then we were off to 3 breweries….wait a minute….maybe that is why I was so fast 😉

To top this day off we were at our first brewery and my brother called with his race results from Canada. Within seconds of that phone call we were told he had become a PROFESSIONAL TRIATHLETE! I literally broke out in tears instantly and all my brother could say was, “But Hunter that is a really fast time for Pat Griskus.” I said, “No Spencer lets not talk about me, lets talk about you. You are a professional now!!!”

What a beyond incredible day this was from the race, to the phone call, and then of course to the breweries 🙂 Happy training to all my bike ladies out there! This was race #3 out of 4 for the month of June. Stay tuned for the Xterra French River race recap.